Malloy, Finch tout anti-crime progress

Updated 12:15 am, Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Ciera Clarke and Nigel Reid, from Regional Youth Adult Social Action Partnership (RYASAP), speak at a press in Bridgeport, Conn. July 15, 2014. Community leaders gathered to announce the allocation of Youth Violence Prevention grants to fight violent crime in Bridgeport. less

Ciera Clarke and Nigel Reid, from Regional Youth Adult Social Action Partnership (RYASAP), speak at a press in Bridgeport, Conn. July 15, 2014. Community leaders gathered to announce the allocation of Youth ... more

Charlie Grady, Project Manager for Project Longevity in Bridgeport, speaks during a press conference at Regional Youth Adult Social Action Partnership (RYASAP), in Bridgeport, Conn. July 15, 2014. Grady and other community leaders, including Gov. Dannel Malloy, spoke about the allocation of Youth Violence Prevention grants to fight violent crime in Bridgeport. less

Charlie Grady, Project Manager for Project Longevity in Bridgeport, speaks during a press conference at Regional Youth Adult Social Action Partnership (RYASAP), in Bridgeport, Conn. July 15, 2014. Grady and ... more

Warm summer evenings sans gunfire can seem like a fantasy in urban centers like Bridgeport that struggle to attract visitors and keep residents amid headlines about bullets and bodies.

Malloy, Mayor Bill Finch -- both Democrats -- and other officials insisted Tuesday that their coordinated efforts to prevent youth violence and crack down on gangs are paying off.

"It's about making growing up just a little bit safer, keeping people out of trouble and out of jail," the governor said as he touted a recent investment of more than $671,000 in grants to nine community-based programs targeting youth violence and youth development in Bridgeport.

Malloy's visit to the Burroughs Community Center came just over a week after a July Fourth weekend marred by the shooting of six people, two of whom died.

One victim was Abraham Davidson, 23, who had recently been released from prison for a gang-related shooting.

The other, Kiromy Fontanez, 24, was allegedly shot to death by her boyfriend, Jose Santiago, 37.

"Just a few weeks ago we had a difficult weekend," Malloy said. "Those things are going to happen from time to time."

He added later, "We know things escalate in the summer."

By contrast, the violence Bridgeport police had prepared for this weekend, following the conclusion of the Justin Thompson court case Friday and Monday's burial of Davidson, never materialized.

Thompson was ambushed by rival gang members in January 2012 while walking home from a party. The murder prompted anti-violence protests and resulted in Bridgeport's 2-year-old youth curfew.

Large groups of teenagers attended the trial and others held vigils on the courthouse steps over the past two weeks. Jurors had asked to be escorted to their cars by police.

"For people looking to cause trouble, I want to make this clear: There will be zero tolerance and no second warnings," Assistant Police Chief James Nardozzi said in a statement Friday, when the jury acquitted Laheem Jones in the killing.

Nardozzi, who joined Finch, Malloy and state legislators Tuesday, said the department had uniformed and plainclothes officers assigned to Davidson's funeral.

"We had no specific information anything bad was going to happen, but we took measures," Nardozzi said.

And after all that preparation, it was a quiet weekend.

"I think the message is getting out," Nardozzi said.

He offered some statistics to support that claim. Compared to the same time last year, homicides in Bridgeport are down 33.3 percent (from six to four), shootings are 12 percent lower and there have been about 18 percent less shooting victims.

Charles Grady, director of Project Longevity, was also on hand Tuesday. The initiative brings young people -- often gang leaders -- to tough-love sessions dubbed "call-ins" with community leaders and social service providers offering alternatives to violence.

Grady does not like to use the term "gang" because it indicates there is some sort of hierarchy. In reality, he said, youth violence is far less organized and more of a "free-for-all" among different "groups."

Since launching in Bridgeport in 2013, Project Longevity has hosted three call-ins -- the last one coming earlier this month -- that drew 79 people. Of those, Grady said, the program continues to work with 18 individuals.

He said those numbers should not be seen as failure.

"Here's the measure -- the homicide and shooting reduction," Grady said, arguing that youths who attend a call-in are likely talking to their associates about tougher enforcement and alternatives to street violence.

"That's the impact of the call-in," Grady said.

Officials, including Grady and Nardozzi, said they could not immediate state the impact the youth curfew has had. The curfew has been relatively noncontroversial, with the most opposition coming from the American Civil Liberties Union.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's another tool (police) can use," Finch said Tuesday. "I haven't heard anything from the community (saying) they don't want it or the chief (saying) they don't need it."

There was an obvious, though unstated, political message behind Malloy's visit to Bridgeport.

The governor won a tight race in 2010 with the help of urban voters and heavily Democratic Bridgeport in particular. Malloy is up for re-election in November, and Finch is seeking a third term in 2015, so keeping the crime rate low in Connecticut's largest city is important to both of them.

Finch, referencing the tough, post-Sandy Hook firearms laws Malloy signed into law, said, "I want to thank Gov. Malloy for leading us away from violence."

Meanwhile, Malloy made sure to emphasize that he has continued to battle violence in Bridgeport.

"This is far from my first stop in Bridgeport to speak about homicides, shootings and assaults," the governor said. "I've been here on a regular basis."